The recently revised NAEYC position papers and the fourth edition of NAEYC's Developmentally Appropriate Guidelines (NAEYC. 2022. "Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs: Serving Children from Birth through Age 8," edited by S. Friedman, 4th ed. Washington: National Association for the Education of Young…

Children grow and change more rapidly during the first eight years of life than any other time in their life span. Progression through the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional developmental stages varies for each individual child. Children with atypical development experience a wide spectrum of variability in their development. Over the past…

Children's perceptions of the developmental opportunities afforded by school and afterschool were studied. The data support prior research showing that inequitable patterns exist, across gender, ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic status, in children's perceptions of the opportunities provided by school. Afterschool programs, conversely, are faring…

This policy brief explores kindergarten readiness observation and its benefits to local and state level stakeholders; highlights efforts by California counties and other states to measure school readiness; and makes recommendations for moving toward statewide use of kindergarten readiness observation tools. Key points include: (1) Early efforts to…

This report examines how early educational opportunities affect child development and eventually adult productivity. The report also discusses some implications for developing countries. The effectiveness of educational programs for infants to 2.5-year-olds has not yet been demonstrated. However programs that ensure health, nutrition,…